Claire Keegan is an Irish author known for her acclaimed works of fiction, primarily short stories and novels. Claire Keegan books are often praised for the precise, evocative prose and for her exploration of themes related to family, relationships, and rural life in Ireland.
Claire Keegan has received several awards and accolades for her work, including:
- The William Trevor/Elizabeth Bowen International Short Story Prize: Claire Keegan won this prestigious award for her short story “Foster” in 2009.
- The Davy Byrnes Irish Writing Award: Claire Keegan has also won this award for her short story “The Forester’s Daughter.”
- The Rooney Prize for Irish Literature: She was the recipient of the Rooney Prize, which is awarded to emerging Irish writers with exceptional promise.
Small Things Like These was also shortlisted for the Booker Prize.
I’ve only read one Claire Keegan book so far, Small Things Like These. It might only have been a short book but it definitely packed a punch. I love Claire Keegan’s style of writing and the story has stayed with me.
This is the complete list of Claire Keegan books in order.
It isn’t necessary to read Claire Keegan books in order as they are standalone novels. However I have organised this list by publication date. I’ve written the books down in order as a simple list at the end, but I’ve also included the full descriptions. Feel free to skip to whichever section you prefer.
Claire Keegan Books in Order: Standalone Novels
Foster (2010)
It is a hot summer in rural Ireland. A child is taken by her father to live with relatives on a farm, not knowing when or if she will be brought home again. In the Kinsellas’ house, she finds an affection and warmth she has not known and slowly, in their care, begins to blossom.
But there is something unspoken in this new household–where everything is so well tended to–and this summer must soon come to an end.
Small Things Like These (2020)
In the mid 1980s, Bill Furlong is a coal merchant and family man. On the lead up to Christmas, Bill’s busiest season, he delivers an order to the local convent.
During this delivery, Bill discovers there’s something terrible going on behind the convent walls. The local community is complicit in its silence as it chooses to tolerate what is happening to protect their own families.
Bill is forced to make a decision between what is morally right, and what would be best for his family. Should he look away or speak out, whatever the cost to his family?
Click here to read my review of Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan.
So Late in the Day (2023) – NEW
After an uneventful Friday at the Dublin office, Cathal faces into the long weekend and takes the bus home. There, his mind agitates over a woman named Sabine with whom he could have spent his life, had he acted differently.
All evening, with only the television and a bottle of champagne for company, thoughts of this woman and others intrude – and the true significance of this particular date is revealed.
Claire Keegan Books in Order: Short Stories
The Forester’s Daughter (2019)
The evening is fine. In the sky a few early stars are shining of their own accord. She watches the dog licking the bowl clean. This dog will break her daughter’s heart, she’s sure of it.
Claire Keegan’s mesmeric story takes us into the heart of the Wicklow countryside, and of the farming family of Victor Deegan, with his ‘three teenagers, the milking and the mortgage’.
When Deegan finds a gun dog and gives it as a present to his only daughter, his wife is filled with foreboding at this seeming act of kindness. As the seasons pass, long-buried family secrets threaten to emerge.
Claire Keegan Books in Order: Collections
Antarctica (1999)
In Antarctica, an astonishing sequence of stories, one of our most gifted writers illuminates human longing and fallibility in all its variety.
Walk the Blue Fields (2007)
Walk the Blue Fields is an unforgettable array of quietly wrenching stories about despair and desire in the timeless world of modern-day Ireland.
Claire Keegan Books In Order: Written List
Publication Order of Standalone Novels
Publication Order of Short Stories
Publication Order of Collections
Claire Keegan Books In Order: Summary
And that’s all the Claire Keegan books in order at the time of writing. I’ll keep this list updated as and when more books are released.
You may also be interested in:
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan Review
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Jen - MMB Book Blog
Jen is the owner and writer of MMB Book Blog. A lifelong bookworm, she aims to provide readers with literary inspiration in the form of book reviews, reading lists and more. As the daughter of a librarian Jen's love of books started from a very early age. Her reading obsession continued throughout her teenage years when she studied both English Language and English Literature at college. As an adult her love of reading has only increased and she can always be found with her head in a book.